The tale of Lee
by F8WUZL8
Summary: When Lee has second thoughts after Zuko leaves, he tries to find his friend. When he finds the Gaang and completely forgets about Zuko, what will happen when they are reunited at the western air temple? NOT slash.
1. Chapter 1: Lost

I sat there, alone, confused. He was gone. Dad was gone. Sinzu was gone. Everyone I knew, Except for mom. But even so…

I had befriended him. I had been obnoxious with him. I had stolen his swords, and he hadn't been angry, he'd taught me how to use them. He WAS Sinzu, even though they didn't look alike. Sinzu looked like me, shaggy haired, dark skinned, but this man had that scar on his face. But they both treated me like a younger brother, like a kid.

I had only known him for a day. But he was so much like my older brother, that he almost took Sinzu's place. But no, Sinzu was dead, and this man was…_ fire nation._

I know I should spit and scorn at him. The fire nation is the reason Sinzu's dead. His troop was captured and put on the front line in fire- navy uniforms, unarmed. That's what the thugs said. I know I should hate the man... I even said I DID… but I couldn't bring myself to believe it.

_Zuko._ Prince of the fire nation. The word Zuko means failure, but Zuko hadn't failed. He'd saved me from those bullies. Even though doing so would either kill him, or blow his cover. He'd risked his life to save me. And I had turned on him. The entire village had, thrusting out the first person to stand up to the thugs since my brother.

I needed to go find him. I needed to go help him somehow or at least say I'm sorry. He couldn't have gotten far! That ostrich horse wouldn't last another day anyway. But if I got hurt… I needed a weapon.

I turned to the dagger in front of me. He had left it for me. I grabbed it tentatively. My mother stood a few feet behind me. "Lee, don't worry about him. That horrible man won't be coming here anymore. He'd be killed by the refugees if he did. That thug isn't going to hurt you…"

"STOP IT, MOM!" I had gotten up and yelled. My mother was stunned. _Well, of course she doesn't expect her nine year-old son to yell at her. _I pointed to the direction that Zuko had disappeared. "That kid just saved my _life._ And we treated him like dirt. Fire nation or not, he saved me, and I owe him everything I've got. I have to find him. I have to help him. He can't have gotten far."

I saw her about to reply harshly and spoke more. "And you can't follow me. If something were to happen to me, I need a home and a mom to come back to."

She nodded, not about to object, tears glistening. "At least take the pig- rooster. And take one of the thug's ostrich-horses. Don't forget you have a family." She handed me the reigns of a horse and perched a small pig-rooster on my shoulder. I hugged her, and mounted the ostrich-horse, and rode off toward the sunset.

This ostrich horse was the picture of health. The constant "police work" made it strong, and fast enough to beat a broken down one. I had supplies, where all Zuko had was himself. This is a little harsh of me to think this way, but hey! I'm only surviving!

I had trotted for days, without any trail but some hoof- prints. The scorching heat sometimes burned my shoulders, but the metal armor my horse wore was probably worse. I could only keep going. The pig- rooster made sure I didn't fall asleep, even though I'd stayed awake for the past 48 hours.

My food was running low, and I had drank the last few drops of water in my canteen a few hours ago. I was dying of thirst.

Then I saw it. A lush green forest, with the sound of rushing water, filled my tired eyes. It was a desert oasis. Perfect. I could get there.

I was in the forest, drinking from the clear- blue water that flowed in a stream. The Ostrich-horse and pig rooster followed, and their heads sank to water level. I've been deciding on names for the two. The pig rooster was male. Maybe Shy-rek? Yea, Shyrek. And the ostrich female….Froan. So my Posse… Lee, Shyrek, and Froan. That sounded good.

I heard a rustle behind me. The radiations of freshness coming from the water suddenly turned cold. The sound was heavy. An animal. I quickly rummaged through my bag for my dagger, unsheathing it slightly. I sat for a moment, listening for the sound again, hoping to catch my dinner. The bush rustled again, and I instinctively flung my dagger. I then heard someone scream…


	2. Chapter 2: Found

**Hello everyone. Did ya like the first chappie? **

**Disclaimer: Roses are red**

**Violets are blue**

**I don't own Avatar (or this disclaimer, for that matter)**

**So please don't sue!**

Ch.2

My mistake. It was a Human. But how were it's foot-falls so light?

A girls voice yelled out, "Twinkletoes! Are you alright?" (A/N I really don't know if Toph would be in the gang yet… but I don't really care! =^-^=)

Twinkletoes? The man must be known for his light footsteps. I needed to see who I'd mauled, and explain. Normally I'd run away from this kind of situation… but they had my dagger! For some reason I felt the metal weapon was sacred. It was important to me, the only proof I had that Zuko existed.

I pushed aside some bushes, holding Froan's reins, Shyrek perched on my shoulder.

The man wasn't really a man at all. He was a kid with an arrow on his head. And my dagger was impaled into tree behind him, it had grazed his arm. His yellow sleeve was ripped. An Earth Kingdom girl, blind, and probably the one who had called out for him, was sitting near him. Meanwhile a girl in blue clothes who looked about 14, and a boy who looked similar but older, hovered over the kid. The oldest boy grabbed the dagger from the tree and pointed t at me casually.

"What do you think you're doing, throwing daggers? Someone could get really hurt!" His voice cracked at the end and I surpassed a giggle. The younger boy was sitting up, the water girl had done something to his arm, and there wasn't a scratch on it. I rubbed the back of my neck, my face growing hot.

"Erm, Sorry. I thought you were, um, lunch. Who are you?" I asked. There clothing made me curious. The younger boy with the yellow- orange clothing bounced up on a cushion of air. He must be the Avatar!

"I'm Aang!" Aang said enthusiastically. "I'm the Avatar!" My suspicions were comfirmed. He pointed at the green- clothed girl. "That's Toph, she's an earthbeder," He pointed at the older girl, "That's Katara, she's a waterbender," he pointed at the oldest boy, "And that's Sokka. He's a master.. er… boomerang-er."

I laughed. They were nice. "I'm Lee!" I told them, giving a crooked smile. "This is Froan and Shyrek." I said, motioning to my animals.

"Soo… Whaddar you guys doin here?" I asked them, snatching my dagger from Sokka.

"Well, we're actually leaving for Ba Sing Se. Ya wanna come?" Aang asked me. I was about to reply a wholehearted yes, when Sokka interrupted.

"No way, There is NO WAY we're taking him with us! He'll only drag us down- Ouch! What was that for?!?" He exclaimed after receiving a slap on the arm from Katara. He then turned to me. "What are you out here for, anyway?"

My thoughts then raced to Zuko. Who could I choose? My evil old friend that I owe my life to? Or my heroic new ones that I owe a scratch to?

* * *

Oh... so Lee has a choice to make!


	3. Chapter 3: Later

Ch. 3: Later.

6 months later: Lee stayed with the gang. Because he had no bending or swords or defenses at all, he became Momo's official caretaker (=^-^=). He has never ever run into Zuko or heard of Zuko or thought of Zuko since that day in the woods. (A/N I don't really know if this is possible, but I made it so cuz it's my story! ;) ) They are now heading towards the western Air Temple. Lee has become a part of the group, and has never told anyone of his connection with Zuko.

In his extra time away from the gang while they were battling fire- nation, Lee has become quite the musician. He has carved himself a wooden flute, and written many songs. His songs have cheered his friends up multiple times.

At the invasion, Lee was annoyed that he couldn't help, and still sort of ticked at his friends.

"Ugh! So-kkaaa, walk faster!" I exclaimed at an aggravated Sokka. I was on his back. He was giving me a piggy back ride because I had lost my shoes at the invasion. Aang had landed Appa, because he had almost dozed off while flying. We were on foot, now.

"Ya know, my feet are starting to hurt. Maybe you should carry ME the rest of the way!" Sokka exclaimed, clearly irritated.

"I'll try!" yelled the Duke, excitedly. This gained a laugh from everyone. "No SERIOUSLY! I could do it!"

Toph stop walking abruptedly, causing Sokka to bump into her, and me to fall onto a cushion of air, courtesy of Aang.

Toph spoke, "I don't think there'll be a need for that. We're here!"

Appa flew us down. The air temple was… wow. Very. So "wow" that we all said "wow".

Very wow.

As we landed, I looked the entire place over. There were huge pillars holding it up, and behind one, I thought I saw a flash of red.

But maybe it was just my imagination.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

aww... poor Lee

I apreciate reviews! *..*


	4. Chapter 4: Tunnels

Ch. 4: Tunnels

"It's so much bigger than the Northern Air Temple." Teo stated. I had grown attached to Teo, Haru, and The Duke. The four of us were the group within the group. We did everything together, like me and the kids of my town had been. We were all mesmerized by the huge temple.

"C'mon!" Haru said to us. "Lets see if there are any secret rooms!"

"Okay! Aang, come on!" I exclaimed. After an hour of walking, leisurely exploring sounded pretty good.

Katara stopped Aang , they were probably going to go talk about some boring battle stuff. We'd just have to have fun without him.

Teo, Haru, The Duke, and I made our way through a tunnel. Haru had been right, there WERE secret passageways.

"It's creepy in here." I stated, my voice barely above a whisper. It bounced across the walls of the great underground cavern that we had just entered. The Cave was huge, its walls stretching vastly, holes where a river flowed.

"Echo!" Haru yelled. Echo…echo…echo… the cave said, lower every time. "Hey guys, I think there's a chute down this way!" He exclaimed, clearing away some rock. Sure enough, there was a smooth slide heading steeply downwards. As Teo came up close to look, his front wheel slid forward. \

"WHOAH! AAAAAAAaaaaa!!!!"

Before I knew it, Teo was down the chute, plummeting into darkness.

"NOO!!! TEOOOOOooooooo!" The Duke screamed. He was gone.

"THE DUUUUuuukkkeeee! HAHAHA!!! WHOOO!!!!" Haru yelled.

I didn't think. I plunged in.

I think I see light. I must be at the end… nope, another curve. The slide seemed endless, curve after bend after loop after another curve, it just kept going. And it was dark, so dark, I almost thought I was dead. But I still heard my friends lower down on the slide, so that wasn't really a possibility. Or was it?

…

…

…

…

…

Nah!

Finally the light did show, and I was thrusted out. Haru, The Duke, and I landed on our butts, while Teo shot across the tunnel. His wheelchair caught on a rock, and he himself was thrown 2 feet forward, to be stopped by a stalagmite(stalagmite=ground).

A half hour passed as we got Teo back into his chair, laughing the whole time. When we were finally on our way again, we found stairs that led back up to the temple.

The Duke stated, "I'm hungry. Let's go back… I wonder what everyone else is up to?"

So we made our way back.

* * *

**What _is_ everyone else up to? **

**If you've seen the series as many times as i have, you should know!**

**do you likee? review!**

**This fun chappie dedicated to my so far most frequent reviewer: ell25 :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Something Wrong

Ch. 5: The Boy

_**3rd Person**_

Teo, Haru, The Duke, and Lee had left. The original Gaang had just arrived at the Western Air Temple, and had finished concluding that there was no firebender in the world that could teach Aang. Until Toph spoke up.

"What about Iroh?" Toph exclaimed, as if hitting a breakthrough. "You know how much he's helped us. Maybe-"

"No." Katara cut her off. "No Firebender that we don't know for sure is not with the fire nation. Iroh was prince of the fire nation. And don't get me started on the current prince. Also, Lee's got a thing for firebenders, kinda like Jet, but it's fear. I don't want to put him in that situation. He's only nine!"

Sokka snorted. "Katara, I think you're a little overprotective of that kid. He can handle it. Besides, The Duke can handle it, and he's like, two!"

"Actually, Sokka, The Duke is thirteen. He's just a little shrimpy." Aang flashed a grin.

Katara smirked at her brother, "Case in point."

"I'm bored, can't we talk about this later? I want to give you guys a tour!" Aang whined.

"Fine." Sokka stated pushing up from his seat. "Let's go."

______________________________________________________________________________________

Back to Lee's POV

"Ugh! I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here!" Toph screamed. That's what I heard, as I watched her storm out of a room. We had just gotten back from the tunnel, and when she left, well, we just walked right in. We, except me. I went to figure out what was wrong with Toph.

I followed her out of the Western Air Temple. If she was going to go meditate or something, then I'd turn around and leave.

Sure looked like she wanted to go and fume by herself, so… I left.

* * *

Toph wasn't back yet the next day. Teo and I were coming back from riding the tunnel again, after her not returning, and Haru and the Duke were coming back from earthbending practice(Haru earthbending, The Duke watching).

Surprisingly, when we came back, Toph was sitting at the fountain. Katara was with her. I heard noise in the background, bangs and booms, but if Katara and Toph weren't there it must not be important.

My friends were going hunting, but I decided to stay back and find out what's going on.

As I walked up, I realized Toph was crying, Aang was comforting her… no, they were crying together. I spoke, "Toph? Aang? What's going on?"

"Combustion Man returned…" Aang started. My heart beat faster. "No friends were hurt, combustion an was killed, but… you can see for yourself, I guess. You won't know him… and…"

I left in the direction of the crashes, and recognized what they were. Struggle.

* * *

**ZUKO IS NOT DEAD!!!!!!!! Somebody is... but NOT ZUKO!!!!!!!!!!!! GAWD!!!**

**THX 2 ALL OF MY READERS. ILL POST AGAIN ASAP**


	6. Chapter 6: What really happened

**This is a mean chappie on my part. Sorry!**

Ch. 6: What really happened.

Iroh had followed Zuko. No one had known this. When Iroh broke out of prison, he had already known what path Zuko had taken. Zuko had chosen, and he had chosen _right_. Now there was just the matter of getting him into the avatar's group.

So Iroh had made the long journey to the Western Air Temple, following Zuko, who was following the gang. He had watched Xin- Xiao (or as the avatar had called him, "Combustion Man") attack the group, he had watched Zuko defend them.

And he had watched Xin-Xiao blast Zuko off the mountain. He had gasped at this, but smiled when it was clear the avatar had saved his nephew. Now he fought Xin-Xiao.

Blasts of fire escaped his fists. Explosions of fire escaped Xin-Xiao's third eye. One was directed exactly at him, and he felt his breath leave him.

But not before seeing that Zuko was mutilated, if not dead, and connecting eyes with an anguished avatar. And killing Xin- Xiao.

Zuko watched helplessly as his uncle sacrificed himself. He was dead, gone. Forever.

As the avatar's friends helped him into a room to heal, He thought aimlessly. He wasn't feeling saddness right now, he felt dread, dread that cut into his heart and left an open wound. A wound that burned more than all the physical wounds covering his body. It was that damned assasin's fault that he was literally at the avatar's mercy.

But he had sent the assasin on the mission. And he had put himself at the avatars mercy only an hour before.

"UGH!" he would've yelled, but the burns on his throat made his cry inaudible. All roads of guilt led to him. He had done everything wrong, and now he'd payed the ultimate price. The one person who cared about him was dead.

_**back to Lee.**_

I dashed down the hall, trying to find out which room everybody was in. I followed my ears as I ran down each hallway. When i finally came upon the room, I peeked through the window. I saw what I would have never expected to see ever again.

"Zuko." I breathed. All memories of that day flooded back to me.

It was a sorry sight. Half my savior's body was covered in burns, not including his trademark scar. His wrists were tied, which seemed rather unnecessary, since he propbably couldn't move anyway, much less firebend. He was roughly pinned to the wall by Sokka, who didn't bat an eye when Zuko winced. And then Sokka got all up in his face and said, "We just saved your sorry hide from _your _assasin. Any wrong moves for the time you're here, and I'll gladly finish the job. _Understand?"_

Zuko held his ground and bared his teeth, even though he was clearly outmatched. Sokka mirrored, and it looked like they would've started fighting right then and there if they hadn't been interrupted.

"Sokka, cut it out!" Aang spoke from the door. somehow he had gotten there without me noticing.

Sokka's eyes didn't move from Zuko as he smirked and said, "Fine." He dropped his arms from Zuko's shoulders and Zuko fell tom the ground.

"Hey!" It came out as a croak.

Aang laughed. So did Katara, who came out of the shadows.

I shook my head. I didn't like this, not one bit. They were bein plain mean.

They finally realized Zuko needed to be in a bed, after tormenting their former enemy for about five minutes. While doing so, My friends were about to leave, when Sokka delivered the worst of it all.

"Well, you seem pretty helpless without your Uncle to protect you, huh?"

So THAT's who died. And recently to. I saw a wave of pain flash over Zuko's face, the same as I had saw on my mom's when she found out Sinzu was dead.

And that was the last I could watch. I needed to help.

**Im bein mean to Zuko and Iroh, I know, but I just need to probe Zuko until he snaps. Which is now.**


	7. Chapter 7: Zuko

Ch. 7: Lee makes an appearance.

**_3rd person_**

Zuko snarled, strength returning, until he stopped dead in his tracks. He had comepletly forgotten. Iroh was...

The door slammed, leaving Zuko alone with a streaming face.

_**Lee**_

I watched as Aang slammed the door. I had moved from my hiding place long before, and then stared at them in disgust, crossing my arms.

Sokka stared at me skeptically. "Whats your problem?"

But I walked forward right past him, Katara, and Aang into the room they had just left. The door creaked open, and I timidly walked in. He was crying, and I felt sick. So I said the only thing i could think to say. "I'm so sorry, Zuko."

I fell to my knees. Why? Why is there no good side to this war? Even the Avatar has grown hotheaded with power! I was done. I was throwing my hands up and calling it quits, if there was no one who could be free. Why do the two sides blind each and every participator from the whole?

Why does even the symbol of peace turn out to be a- a _monster?_

Zuko turned around to face me, and said only one thing, "Lee?"

I smiled grimly. "yea."

"but I thought-"

"That I hated you. That as my first mistake: lying. After you left, I found out that Sinzu was dead, and my dad had died trying to save him. You were really the only one left. So-" I broke off, not wanting to talk about my second mistake.

"So you went after me? And somehow you ran into the avatar." He continued, smiling half- heartedly.

"That was my second mistake: forgetting. I felt so guilty, that i just buried the thoughts in the back of my head and never dug them out again. And then my third mistake, just now. I saw the whole ordeal and wanted to help, but I'm ashamed I didn't. I was too scared to choose between you or my so-called friends." I stopped. This was... hard. But while doing so, I could feel my earlier guilt leave me.

"I'm sorry to get between you and the... group." he stated, but I shook my head.

"If they would be willing to attack an innocent person, just because of their background... well then their no friend of mine."

He bit his lip and looked away. "You're not innocent." i said, increduously. "Are you?"

It took him a moment to answer, "No, no I'm not."

"The reason?" I prompted, hoping for a straight-out answer.

"is none of your business."

Alright, that hurt. It was most ALL of my business. And he was keeping things from me again, just like he did in the town. Why couldn't he just tell me? But then I thought of something that would force him to tell me.

"I guess I'll go ask Aang then. He should know an _interesting _side of this story." I got up and walked towards the door for emphasis, smirking.

"Yea... you probably should." He looked down.

"WHAT?" I couldn't hold back the surprise in my voice. "But their going to be _biased!" _How could he _want _me to get only half of the story? This didn't make any sense!

"Good_night_ Lee. I'll talk to you in the morning." He said simply, laying down again.

"But it's only NOON!" I yelled. What was going on?!?

"GOODNIGHT!"

I sighed and walked out of the room. I knew he had to rest anyway, i just couldn't understand why he didn't want to tell me anything.

But i guess it could wait till the morning. I guess.

**Likeeeee? It's good to get them back together. **

**More friendship l8r, cuz next, we have the gaang's reaction :)**

**cyal8r**

**F8tey**


	8. Chapter 8: Lee is MAD

Ch. 8: Lee is MAD.

The rest of the day passed slowly. I was still pissed at both the gaang, for being horribly mean, and Zuko, for not telling me anything. Seeing that I was mad, everyone avoided me, and I could tell. I decided to go calm down.

I went down the tunnel again. Alone. It wasn't nearly as thrilling as the first time, it was more of a routine ride to go down. In fact, I'd been on it so many times, that I knew how many turns there were. Exactly 35.

I tore across the cave at the bottom. I had relived all of my anger on the way down, and now I was mad like hell. I didn't go to the stairs to go up, i blew right past them. I ran right into a rock door, rammed my forehead against it. It was so dark, I couldn't see my own hand, much less see a stone wall. I was dazed for a moment, realizing it had opened and light was shining through. Pushing the door all the way to the side, I found daylight on the other side. Daylight, and the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen.

It was breathtaking. The colors flew across the sky in streaks, reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, and even blues. The whole flash of color stunned me, and I instinctivly sat down. Hoping to make the most of the place, I grabbed my pipes and started playing.

I had played for at least half an hour in the moonlight when I heard, "That's beautiful, Lee."

I whipped around. It was Aang.

"You didn't come to dinner. We were worried." I saw behind him, as everyone(but Zuko, and my friends, and Toph) emerged from the door.

I turned away from them, scowling.

"Lee, we want to help! We just don't understand what's wrong."

I chose my words carefully and angrily. "What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?!?" I screamed. I then hushed my voice to a low whisper, "What's wrong is that there isn't a good side to this war anymore. There is no correct side. There is no good side. Both sides are bad, Bad, BAD!!!! There's no 'evil' side to the war! They're EQUAL! It's just that their too caught up in the whole dang stereotype that there's two sides, and you're either on one side or the other. WELL I'M NEUTRAL!" I had startled them, but I didn't care. "I don't trust the firenation, but i don't trust YOU EITHER!!!"

Sokka had never liked me. He stepped up in front of Aang as the "leader". "Fine. But _we're_ not gonna listen to you when innocent people get KILLED!"

"AND INNOCENT PEOPLE GET HORRASSED!" I yelled right back at him. Aang's face softened from fury, but Sokka's and Katara's stayed intact.

"Wait, that's what this is all about? Zuko?" He asked me. I nodded.

"It doesn't matter, Aang." Sokka said to him, not taking his eyes off of me. "I think he should just leave right now."

I stared right back at him. "_I'm not leaving until you apologize, Sokka. I'm not leaving until my friend is healed, Katara. I'm not leaving until I have an explanation, Aang. And I'm not leaving until Zuko is FREE!"_

Aand stepped up to me, "I want to know what's going on. Let's go back for dinner."

I nodded firmly, and we made our way back up the steps to the stories that would need to be told.

**_It's short. deal with it ;)_**

**_REPLY!!!!!_**


	9. Chapter 9: Truth be Told

Ch. 9 Truth be Told.

The campfire flickered in the dim light. We ate silently, afraid of saying anything. Finally, after the dishes were long done, Teo, Haru, and the Duke were snoring loudly, and everyone was to bloodshot to sleep, Toph spoke.

"Okay, what's with the silence, guys? And the rapid heartbeats? What's going on? And since when are _you_ awake this late, Lee?"

Silence.

"Okay, guys, you're really freaking me out, now."

"Sorry, Toph. We were just... nervous." I said. "So, Aang, What happened at all those battles that I missed?"

Aang looked at me, then to the ground. "When I came out of the iceburg, Katara and Sokka brought me back to the southern Water tribe. There, Prince Zuko tried to capture me. And he suceeded, but Katara and Sokka saved me and we escaped. Then..."

**_A/N you guys don't care if i skip that whole recap, do you? i don't feel like typing up the entire series, lol_**

So that was it. Wow. Zuko is a monster. But... no. I needed the other side too. And so does the gaang.

I motioned for them to stay outside. We were just outside the room Zuko was in. I pushed the door open just as I had earlier that day; scared because my dad had said, "Never disturb a man in is sleep. Not only will it shake up them, it would be dangerous for YOU!"

I giggled at the memory, until I was brought back to reality when I realized Zuko was staring at the door, wide awake, swords in hand. _ Just like Dad said._ I thought. I stepped out of the shadows, "It's just me!"

He dropped down and sighed, dramatically. "And your friends!" He was annoyed.

I laughed. "I thought you'd hate them, not be _scared_ of them!"

Zuko glowered at me. "I'm not scared of them... i'm just.... on guard."

I laughed some more, sat down, and changed the subject. "PLEEEEEASE will you talk to them! PLEEEEZE!"

"Do I have a choice?" He asked me, and I smirked.

"...no, not really..."

"Then get this over with."

I smiled. He groaned. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph entered the room.

**_3rd person._**

Zuko stared into darkness, angrily. It had been a long night, and his entire life story was out. He had to admit, it had been easy talking to the Av...(wait, what's the kids name?) Aang, and he certianly felt accepted more. If anything, he wasn't still in chains. But what had made him tell them_? It's Lee. He's intoxicating_. Now... now he'd never be looked on normally again. He'd saw it in their expressions. Pity. Which sucked. He'd rather be hated and feared than pitied.

The upside was that Sokka wasn't so hotheaded. The Downside was that Katara still didn't trust him. The latter was worse, seeing as he was still burned; down his arms, and his neck, and one of his ankles was twisted_. .... stupid combustion man..._

Honestly, he didn't blame Katara. He still felt extremely guilty about what had happened in the cave, and it didn't seem as though she'd forgive him anytime soon.

So for now, all he could do was suffer in silence.

**I know, I'm really killing Zuko. well, too bad. **

**And if you guys havn't noticed, Zuko and Lee have more of a brotherly relationship now. **

**I'm gonna dish out a few more chappies. Let's sum this baby up!**

**-F8**


	10. Chapter 10: The End

Ch. 10

Lee.

The days passed slowly after that night. I knew I should be relishing the relaxation, but I was too apprehensive for Aang to face the firelord, and get the whole war over and done with. But it couldn't happen that way. There were still adventures to be had, and plans to be made.

For example, according to Toph, everyone was going on "field trips" with Zuko. Katara, even though she still hadn't trusted him at the time, had agreed to heal him. When Zuko was well, he and Aang went to some ancient civilization with some people called "sun warriors", and learned something about firebending, and a dance! Something like "The dragon dancer" or "the Dancing dragon"? It was hilarious.

Then Sokka went with Zuko to a big prison in the firenation, And they freed Chief Hakoda, Sokka's dad, and Suki, Sokka's girlfriend, and this guy Chit Zang, a friend of Sokka and Zuko.

Then Zuko finally earned Katara's trust when he took her to these "Southern Raider" people. They came back empty-handed, but suddenly Katara _hugs_ him? It didn't make much sense.

Then we went to this play on Ember Island all about our journey, and guess what! They left me out! I feel so annoyed, I mean, I'm the one that got Zuko into the group, and I'm the one that played pretty music, and I'm the one that stole Sokka's gambling money to buy Momo a funny-looking hat....

But oh well. Tomorrow, Sozin's Comet will come. This time our group is going to win. This time, I won't be on the sidelines carving flutes.

This time, Aang, Sokka, Katara, Zuko, and Toph are going to fight to win.... and I'll be by their side.

The years were happy ones. When the Avatar defeated the Fire Lord, Lee returned home to his mother, and they received money from the new firelord for a better home near the capital of the firenation.

Soon, Zuko married Mai, and everyone rejoiced. (A/N Ugh. I hate Maiko... I just wanted to stick to the series. Zutara 4 eva.) A few days before, Lee had found Zuko by a pond in the palace. It was the anniversary of Iroh's death. Even the Turtleducks were silent in mourning.

"Lee?" Zuko had not expected his friend in the Palace.

"One of the guards let me in." Lee stated. "Said you needed some cheering up. Everyones in town for _you're_ wedding. Iroh would want you to spend time with real friends, not just turtleducks."

Zuko chuckled but did not rise. "Thank you, Lee. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here. Sokka would've finished me off."

Lee laughed. After a year of friendship, those first few days were hard to imagine. "You know, you really are just like Sinzu. I don't care what Azula thought. You're the best brother a guy could have. And we'll always be brothers."

And they both new then that Lee spoke the truth.

.:THE END:.

**_So there you have it folks. a nice, bittersweet ending of my first comeplete fanfiction!!!_**

**_Special thanks to ell25 and Leathe for the constant replies. _**

**_LONG LIVE ZUKO/LEE FRIENDSHIP FFICS!_**

**_F8WUZL8_**


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